Saudi Aramco lands in Jeddah the week a Houthi attack hits its oil depot

Saudi Aramco flew from King Fahd International Airport in Dammam to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on 18 June 2026, a 1-hour-56-minute hop aboard a Boeing 737-8AL (tail N801XA). The trip lands the same week a Houthi attack struck the company’s Jeddah oil depot, per a report from capital-cities.info on 16 June. The strike, which targeted one of the kingdom’s critical energy facilities, has forced security officials to reassess protocols around the kingdom’s infrastructure, including the Jeddah terminal where Aramco stores crude for Red Sea export.

Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan told an investment conference in Rome this week that Aramco is “thinking seriously” about expanding its international oil storage, citing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran conflict as a catalyst. He credited the company’s existing storage in Asia, Korea, and Japan for keeping exports flowing during the crisis, per remarks covered by AGBI on 17 June. The push for larger facilities comes as Aramco also weighs asset sales worth up to $50 billion, including a potential $7 billion sulphur deal and a $25 billion oil-export-terminal transaction.

Recent flights show the company’s aviation division has been shuttling between Dammam, Riyadh, and Jeddah this week, with multiple movements on 17 and 18 June. The Jeddah airport is a natural hub for Red Sea logistics, and the trip aligns with Aramco’s stated strategy of maximizing its East-West Pipeline to bypass maritime disruptions while keeping production steady at 10.6 million barrels per day, as reported by Business Today Middle East on 16 June.